Under Lily's watchful gaze, a tide of darkness surged from Carl's palm, instantly engulfing the entire teleportation device.
Dark mist seeped from the corners of Carl's eyes. With a single squeeze of his hand, he was ready to obliterate the teleportation device in the darkness.
Suddenly, Carl's brows furrowed. He felt an unknown power erupt within the darkness.
The next second, a dreamlike, multicolored light burst forth, and the teleportation device—already swallowed by darkness—shot back out, now hovering above Carl.
Before Carl could figure out what was happening, the teleportation device released a thick, multicolored beam of light that enveloped him entirely.
Instinctively, Carl tried to use Kamui to escape. But this power—normally foolproof—was rendered completely ineffective within the multicolored light.
Carl quickly realized this light was a tangible manifestation of spatial distortion, far surpassing his own Kamui in raw strength.
Of course, even after realizing this, Carl had no intention of surrendering. Golden light flared in his eyes as the phantom image of the Empty Throne appeared behind him. Empowered by the Throne, his darkness erupted like a tangible force, intertwining with the multicolored light surrounding him.
Cracks, dense and gray, began spreading across space itself as the two forces collided. Carl's figure grew increasingly blurred within the chaos—a clear sign that space itself was on the brink of collapse.
Lily, watching from the side, grew anxious. At once, she activated her Demon form. A faint, black, hemispherical ROOM expanded outward from her, enveloping both herself and Carl.
But the spatial turbulence where Carl stood had already gone completely berserk. It was like a mirror on the verge of shattering, incapable of withstanding any additional force.
In her haste, Lily poured out her power without holding back. The moment her energy entered the collapsing space, the entire area completely caved in.
A terrifying gravitational force erupted with the spatial collapse, and in Lily's eyes, Carl's figure twisted into a distorted blur of light and shadow.
"Carl!!!"
Struggling desperately against the pull of gravity, Lily felt her pupils contract sharply. To her, this situation was already beyond hope.
A complex emotion flickered in her eyes. Then, with a soft sigh, she gave up resisting.
"So be it," she thought. "If it's come to this, I might as well die with him. In the end, this is my fault. I triggered the teleportation device's protection mechanism..."
In her mind, this strange phenomenon had to be a safeguard left behind by the Lunarians—to prevent anyone from destroying the teleportation device and cutting off their way home.
She realized she had underestimated the Lunarians' abilities. The power released by this mechanism was so overwhelming that even Carl, wielder of the Empty's Mark, had fallen prey to it.
The gravitational force kept intensifying. Determination flashed across Lily's face as she allowed herself to be pulled toward Carl.
Carl's figure was now nearly indistinct, yet his consciousness remained clear. He hadn't stopped resisting—and he was startled when Lily suddenly shot toward him.
Lily wrapped her arms tightly around Carl's waist. Feeling the reality of her touch, she felt an unexpected sense of peace.
Carl looked down in surprise, blurting out,
"Wait—what are you doing?!"
Eyes closed, Lily whispered softly,
"This is my fault. I didn't expect the teleportation device to have a protection mechanism... and now I've dragged you into this..."
Carl diverted some of his power to shield Lily from the violent gravitational force and said helplessly,
"Hey, I was the one trying to destroy it. What's it got to do with you? And besides, this isn't even that dangerous. Why do you look like you're ready to die?"
Lily jerked her head up, startled.
"What do you mean? You're saying you can escape even from this spatial collapse?"
"I'll have to try. But even if I can't, it's not like my life's in danger. This light just wants to send me somewhere else. I simply don't want to go."
"...You mean at worst we'll just be teleported somewhere?"
"Yeah. If I can't reverse it, I'll get teleported—and now, so will you. What's wrong? Tired of staying here? Eager to visit another dimension?"
Lily's face flushed crimson. She stammered, unable to reply.
Seeing her reaction, Carl raised an eyebrow.
"Wait. Don't tell me... you rushed over here planning to die with me?!"
Hearing it put so bluntly, Lily almost fainted on the spot.
"Shut up! Who said anything about dying with you?! I wish you'd just disappear already!"
Carl smirked, maintaining his focus against the gravitational force as he teased,
"Really? So you're not going to claim you panicked, ran over here by accident, and just happened to hug my waist?"
Gritting her teeth at his infuriating face, Lily snapped,
"Do you ever stop talking?! If we really get teleported, who knows where we'll end up? What if we can't come back? You think your harem back in the palace will just wait forever?"
"I'm already giving it my all. After this, it's up to luck. Even if we do get teleported, there has to be a way back. The Lunarians wouldn't have left without a backup plan."
As he spoke, Carl hugged Lily tightly.
"Since you're here, hold on tight. Honestly, I'm kind of touched you came running like this."
This time, Lily didn't argue back. Whether she didn't want to distract him or had simply accepted things, she only made a soft sound and buried her face against his chest.
After what happened earlier, she didn't dare recklessly interfere again.
Carl held Lily with one arm. With the other, black and gold light swirled violently around his hand, forming a counter-rotating vortex.
He was trying to buy time, hoping the teleportation device would run out of energy.
But as seconds passed, the energy didn't weaken. If anything, it grew stronger.
Finally, Carl snapped,
"Damn it! This makes no sense!!"
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+110 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg